Anyone not familiar with the music of Bill Staines is in for a special treat.
Last Dance Productions is pleased to welcome Bill Staines to one of the great listening rooms in town, the New England Folk Music Archives. The event takes place on on Wednesday, July 17th at 7pm. We’ll have a conversation with Bill recording his thoughts about the Folk Scene in New England over the past years that will be deposited into our growing oral history collection.
After the conversation we’ll be treated to a performance by Bill Staines.
For more than forty years, Bill Staines has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960′s and for a time, emceed the Sunday Hootenanny at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. From the time in 1971 when a reviewer from the Boston Phoenix stated that he was “simply Boston’s best performer”, Bill has continually appeared on folk music radio listener polls as one of the top all time favorite folk artists. Now, well into his fifth decade as a folk performer, he has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer.
Carolyn Waters…Socially Conscious Soul…
“Carolyn’s music is hypnotic, in a deeply soulful groove. You’ve heard it said that pure music seems to “flow” through a great singer? Go hear Carolyn to experience the real thing” – Pete and Maura Kennedy, The Kennedys.
Carolyn Waters is a performing singing/songwriter who fuses blues/roots/folk and other musical genres into a unique unforgettable blend of songs and sounds.
As a young girl growing up in Philadelphia, Carolyn Waters sang alone in her bedroom or out loud in the house when she was sure it was empty. It wasn’t by choice, but as the result of thoughtless teasing she got from her family. Even in her church choir, a place where many singers first get noticed and make early names for themselves, she mouthed the words to avoid embarrassment. She, however, never lost her love and passion for music and spent endless hours moving up and down the radio dial, and listening to albums from her parent’s collection.
A life changing event about a decade ago pushed Carolyn to take a voice lesson. This time she wasn’t teased. She was taken notice of, supported, and given a start in folk music, which highlights included opening for Judy Collins, Tom Rush, and Kate Campbell among others.
Oh, and have we mentioned the blues?
“Carolyn Waters is a force of nature. Some people are simply created to sing and bless those who listen, Carolyn is one of those people”. Rev. Robert Jones, Sr. Acclaimed Blues/Roots Musician/Blues Historian – September 2013
Carolyn can belt out barrelhouse and juke joint blues, or fuse them with a pinch of Gospel and roots. She has been featured in the Boston Blues Society’s Ladies Sing the Blues Events where she shared the stage with the late great Shirley Lewis “Regal Queen of the Blues”, Lydia Warren, Lisa Marie and the wonderful Diane Blue to name a few.
Recently Carolyn joined forces with Satoru Nakagawa, a Japanese-born blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and member of the Tokyo Tramps to record her first all blues ep. This powerful duo merged the Delta slide with soulful singing and produced a deep blues experience.
“Carolyn’s voice is amazing, captivating, compelling—any superlative will fit. I don’t believe I have heard such a rich, velvety, and yes—bluesy—voice locally in years” – Karen Nugent, Boston Blues Society – May 2010
Performing solo, and with various accompanying musicians ranging from an incredible single guitarist to fronting her new dynamic Carolyn Waters Band, she can and has performed at all sizes and types of venues including clubs, festivals, galas, coffeehouses, vigils, and intimate-private functions in New England, New York, Maryland and Virginia.
“Carolyn’s songs are personal and have an emotional quality that moves the soul. Her easy natural style communicates immediately with your heart. Her performance is calm but powerful, putting you at ease and making you feel that all is right with the world. I look forward to hearing Carolyn perform her wonderful creations in the future. The best is yet to come”. Charles Williams, Principal, Phillip Glass’ Einstein On The Beach (2012-13 World Tour)
A benefit for Folk New England.
Rhythm of the Saints: A Tribute to Paul Simon
Mile Marker One Restaurant, Bar and Function Hall
75 Essex Ave
Gloucester, MA 01930
Sunday June 7th, 6pm
What a way to enjoy a perfect Summer evening, in the outside tent at the beautiful Mile Marker One restaurant in Gloucester MA.
Gary Backstrom and friends present, Rhythm of the Saints: a tribute to Paul Simon. Featuring members of Jiggle the Handle, Max Creek, Heavy Metal Horns and The Grass Gypsys – Rhythm of the Saints present 2 sets of material spanning Simon’s eclectic career.
The Gary Backstrom Band is a high energy, innovative original act featuring the infectious licks and songwriting of nationally recognized guitarist Gary Backstrom.
Dar Williams with Special Guest Catie Curtis
A benefit concert for Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Friday, February 5th at 7:30pm
Tickets and More Info: Click Here
“Dar Williams is a songwriter of immense talent” – Telegraph UK
Williams growth as an individual over her almost two-decade-long career has gone hand-in-hand with her evolution as an artist. Raised in Chappaqua, N.Y., and educated at Wesleyan University, Williams spent 10 years living in the thriving artistic community of Northampton, Mass., where she began to make the rounds on the coffeehouse circuit. Joan Baez, an early fan of her music, took Williams out on the road and recorded several of her songs.
Every new album from Dar Williams represents her thoughts and feelings about both her own life and larger forces in the world. But her ninth studio record, Emerald, marks a particularly dramatic confluence between her experiences and broader contemporary culture—and what it means to be a songwriter at this moment in history.
“I’m now experiencing the fruits of the alternative culture I was part of in the ‘90s,” she says. “I think I’ve made choices about how I lived my life, outside of the world that was going to fit me among the mainstream norms, and I chose to stay with my friends, to stay with my culture. That turns out to have been the sturdiest structure I could have built for myself. And that’s in my songs, it’s in my teaching. I’m a believer in what can happen when we make music together.” – Dar Williams
Special Guest Catie Curtis
Catie Curtis is a veteran on the singer/songwriter folk scene. She’s performed at the White House, two Presidential Inaugural Balls, with Lilith Fair, and at Carnegie Hall. Winner of several Boston Music Awards, she also took the Grand Prize in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition (out of 15,000 entries). The New Yorker called Catie a “folk-rock goddess.”
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a nonpartisan organization that lobbies, educates and litigates in order to preserve the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.
Tickets and More Info: Click Here
Paul Simon is, without a doubt, one of music’s most important voices.
He wrote some of the most significant, generation-defining songs of the ‘60s (“Mrs. Robinson,” “The Boxer,” “The Sound of Silence”), he filled the world with some of its most infectious melodies in the ‘70s (“50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”), he redefined the sound of popular music in the ‘80s (“Graceland,” “You Can Call Me Al,” “The Obvious Child”) and has remained a compelling and important musical presence to this day.
Now Gary Backstrom (of rock band Jiggle the Handle) and Rhythm of the Saints—a talented seven-piece band—will perform a tribute concert featuring a career-spanning catalogue of Paul Simon’s timeless songs. Gary Backstrom and friends… present, Rhythm of the Saints: A tribute to Paul Simon. featuring members of Jiggle the Handle, Max Creek, Heavy Metal Horns and The Grass Gyp
Gary Backstrom, founder, and frontman of the legendary Boston-based Jiggle The Handle, brings you Rhythm Of The Saints – an all-star tribute to Paul Simon. This seven-piece band featuring members of Jiggle The Handle, Max Creek, and The Heavy Metal Horns flawlessly navigate the musical library of Paul Simon’s solo carrier. The show features all the hits you would hope to hear, including “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”, “Still Crazy After All These Years,” “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes,” and so many more!
Gary Backstrom’s The Rhythm of the Saints A Tribute To Paul Simon
Gary Backstrom, founder, and frontman of the legendary Boston-based Jiggle The Handle, brings you Rhythm Of The Saints – an all-star tribute to Paul Simon. This seven-piece band featuring members of Jiggle The Handle, Max Creek, and The Heavy Metal Horns flawlessly navigate the musical library of Paul Simon’s solo carrier. The show features all the hits you would hope to hear, including “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover”, “Still Crazy After All These Years,” “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes,” and so many more!
GARY BACKSTROM Singer/guitarist Gary Backstrom has been a staple of the northeast music scene for nearly a quarter-century. He is co-founder of the legendary Jiggle The Handle and has enjoyed a long post Jiggle solo career fronting The Gary Backstrom Band and many other projects. Gary has been called “One of the most underrated, fluid and melodic players in the North East
Paul Simon is undoubtedly one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time. After his initial success with Simon and Garfunkel, he emerged in the ’70s as a solo artist with such hits as “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “Still Crazy After All These Years,” and “50 Ways To Lose Your Lover”. Ever-evolving musically, Simon had great success in the ’80s with his South African influenced “Graceland” album that featured the hits “You Can Call Me Al” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.” The 1990s brought the Latin influenced “Rhythm of the Saints” and “Songs from The Capeman” that features doo-wop, rock ‘n’ roll, and Puerto Rican rhythms. Simon continues to record and perform today.
About the Courthouse Center for the Arts
The Courthouse Center for the Arts is the perfect venue for weddings, corporate events and parties, fundraising events, networking, social events, and more. We offer music from all genres, a traveling chorus to entertain you, summer day camps for local schools, senior day centers, and groups, which include an art or music class, and a tour of our historic building.
For more Last Dance Productions events, click here.
